Hayward, CA · Member since 2017 · 133 posts · 12 votes
Hi Fellow investors, what sort of questions would you recommend asking reference customer (owner) given by a property management company before hiring to manager a multi-family property ?
Great question. The references the property manager provides are obviously great references. Here's what I've done before. I'd find out which properties this management firm is managing and read tenant reviews online. I'm watching for trends regarding tenant complaints about management/staff/work orders, etc. Maybe even drive by those other properties and see how they look, talk to tenants, etc.
Great question. The references the property manager provides are obviously great references. Here's what I've done before. I'd find out which properties this management firm is managing and read tenant reviews online. I'm watching for trends regarding tenant complaints about management/staff/work orders, etc. Maybe even drive by those other properties and see how they look, talk to tenants, etc.
Hey @Dan Biber. Good idea checking out reviews. However, in my experience, reviews from owners will give a better understanding of how the management company will provide service. Tenant reviews can be important too, but I have found that many tenants do not understand the business side of property management, or know what to expect as a resident. Most Landlords do a lot of homework preparing to be a Landlord, but tenants do little of the same prior to renting a property, so their expectations can be very unreasonable.
For example, we recently received a negative review from the father of one of our very new tenants. The tenants are two young female roommates. They had an issue with the HVAC where it was not cooling well. They set the thermostat at 72, but found temps would get up to 80 or so during the day when it was over 96 degrees outside. They reported this on a Saturday. We attempted to send someone out Monday morning, as it was hardly an emergency. However, one resident fielded the call and said she would not be able to meet them, and rescheduled for Wednesday. We went out Wednesday and got a quote for cleaning the outside unit. I had to get owner approval, which I did about an hour later. However, the vendor had left and told them he would be back to perform the work in the morning. The other roommate sends me an email around 4:30 stating this was unacceptable and she expected it to be fixed immediately. I explained we would be back in the morning. She also stated her power bill was $300 and she did not expect to pay it as it was our fault that the system was dirty and that is what caused her high bill. I stated we could consider a credit, but we needed to see the current bill and a couple of the following so we can see how much it decreased(establish a baseline). When I saw the bill, it was their first bill so the service period was for more than a month. They charged a connection fee and also a $79 previously unpaid bill. Plus, the bill was only $266, not $300. So her total charges were only $155. I went back and forth with her, but she was not buying any of it. So her father gave us a one star review. Even though I replied to it with a satisfactory explanation, the tenant is wanting to move out right away. I think she was looking for an out. The roommate is fine with things and would like to stay. Regardless, this caused my otherwise superb rating to drop. It is completely unfounded, untrue and frustrating. Just an example of how many tenants see things for what they want and not how they should be. Despite my best efforts in explaining how things work. How we responded is perfectly reasonable from the owner's perspective. But the tenant has different thoughts. Of course, not all tenant reviews will be unreasonable, and many have valid complaints. Even on the negative reviews, I would look to see how the manager handles and addresses their response. On the other hand, some owners will post negative reviews of a management company because they did not understand or read the management agreement, and do not like some provision they agreed to initially. Just my two cents. Best of luck.
@Steve Maginnis hello Steve, thank you for the story. There seemed to be a lack of communication between the two tenets and I can imagine that would be frustrating. Out of curiosity, what is considered an immediate emergency as the 80 degree HVAC system was not one?
Hello @Anais Hawkins. I'm not sure about elsewhere, but in North Carolina, air conditioning is not required at all, provided the residence has window screens, so there are no true emergencies for A/C like there would be for no heat. However, there can be some extenuating circumstances, such as if the tenant has a medical condition that is exacerbated by the heat. With a heatwave of over 95 degree temps, all HVAC companies are backed up. We keep a few portable air conditioners on hand to place at properties if they have no A/C at all and it will be longer than 48 hours before we can get someone out. We want tenants to be comfortable, but some tenants can be unreasonable regarding their expectation. I hope this helps explain.